Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Happy Merdeka 49 - Happy 1st Anniversary to me!

One year later, here I am talking about the upcoming "Hari Kemerdekaan ke-49" celebrations on 31 August 2006.

Oh, before I go on, happy 1st anniversary to myself on anakmerdeka.blogspot.com!

I finally made it - crossed the first year hurdle despite some apprehension and doubt about whether I want to continue putting in time and effort to maintain this self-serving rant-filled platform. Looks like I still got some steam to let off before I call it a day. :-)

Coming back to this topic, I am rather ambivalent about my feelings towards this 49th Merdeka. I guess I'm feeling this way because I don't see the country moving forward in any meaningful way in terms of how we are progressing as a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural society.

The past year has seen an attempt to disengage noble efforts to create the space for meaningful dialogue and understanding between muslims and non-muslims in a non-confrontational manner in this blessed country.

Looks like we are still unable to break down barriers formed by a stubborn section of our society bent on maintaining certain status quo. I can only presume that the fear to engage stems from the misguided notion that it would invariably erode their current status of having the "upper hand" in playing the religious card whenever the need arises during times of political upheaval.

Sisters in Islam wrote a succinct letter published in The SUN on 16 August 2006 (@ p18):-

Don't suppress dialogue

"SISTERS in Islam regrets that the organisers of the 5th International Malaysian Studies Conference held at UPM recently felt pressured to cancel the panel on Religion, Interfaith and National Unity.

We share Prof. Datuk Abdul Rahman Embong, President of the Malaysian Social Science Association (PSSM)'s valid concern that certain developments of late are taking a toll on academic freedom, and have grave implications on the free flow of ideas and academic discourses.

This emerging trend in suppressing the right to openly discuss matters concerning the public is disheartening, especially as it is being imposed on those who are merely peacefully practising their constitutional rights - freedom of speech, assembly and association (Article 10) and freedom of religion (Article 11). This is in contrast to the continued, unfettered dissemination of wrongful information and malicious rumours, as well as the formation of groups by those who intend to silence such open discussions."

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There's not much anyone can do about this without serious political will from those who wield the power to look beyond the selfish motives of a few who are too short-sighted to see further into the future for the common good of all.

These people fail to realise the need to discard certain mentalities in order to survive in an increasingly modern and technologically-advanced world that simply would not respect narrow-minded agendas.

I have a thought: is it conceivable that in the year 2020, Malaysia can still practise open discrimination in the form of race-based quotas and privileges without being seen as political and social pariahs in the eyes of the world community? That's another mere 14 years to go, during which time, we will probably see advances in science & technology making giant leaps forward, while we are still stuck in some black & white cinematic mode.

I'm going to forget about how I feel on this day because someone might just accuse me of harping on eternally unpatriotic feelings whenever the subject of unity in the context of Bangsa Malaysia crops up.

Regardless of what the Information Minister says, I'd like to believe that it is precisely my love for this country and my patriotism that inspired me to start this blog and drives me to continue writing even though I sometimes get a bit sick and tired of local goings-on. The time spent doing this is more meaningful to me as a Malaysian than mere waving of the Jalur Gemilang once a year.

And before I forget, thanks to KJ for the timely Merdeka reminder - racism is thriving under the Youth banner. I can expect to continue with my forced patriotic duty as the bogeyman for the survival of UMNO. *sigh*

There I go again.

Selamat Hari Kemerdekaan ke-49 to all my fellow Malaysian brothers and sisters, and especially to all my blog friends. I wish you peace and happiness until we celebrate our 50th milestone next year.

And err ... I'll wave the flag here and hope Zam appreciates it!

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An afterthought:

In line with a brand new season and in celebrating the spirit of this year's Merdeka, I think I want to cut down on my frussing and fussing. So, Howsy my senseintroverted friend, it's semua OK! now. Even if people continue to cakap tak serupa bikin. Even with the DDC. Especially with the DDC, it's OK to just close-one-eye to THAT one! (*runs to da korner... with Helen*)

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